How Do You Find a Therapist / Counselor?

seabass

I don't really feel well. I haven't felt right since I finished my degree last year. This is despite the fact that things are, generally speaking, going my way. Great wife, lovely place to live, cool job with great people, so there's a really big disconnect between the way my life is and how I seem to feel about it. I see emails from old friends that I cannot bring myself to open, I don't want to answer the phone, and I don't actually enjoy playing D&D or video games with my buddies any more, though I've kept doing it to keep up appearances / in the hopes that I would snap out of this. I'm having trouble staying focused at work, and that's starting to get me into trouble.

To wit, I think I'm depressed, and I would like to be un-depressed before I ruin my relationships / career / liver. How do I find someone to help with this? Do I just ask my general practitioner? Flip through the modern equivalent of the yellow pages?

ceres

Those are all good ways to find counselors, but also use your internets. The first thing to do is probably to find out what's in your network for insurance (assuming US), and then give the people on the list a call. Tell them what you're looking for. Some may not work with general depression or may specialize elsewhere, but probably know therapists who WILL specialize in what you want. Then call that person.

Think about what you are looking for from a therapist, as well. Know going in if you are open to medication or not, because that may affect who you want to see.

Also, you should probably talk to your wife about this. Let her know what's going on, that you've been having trouble, and that you're looking into therapy. Give her a chance to be supportive.

cookiekrush

You can use your general practitioner to get a referral if you need it for insurance reason, but it's also a good way to get insight on what kind of counselor you need in terms of depression, relationship, general, etc.

You can also do your own research to look for one, but also double check with your insurance to see if they're in the same network because they can get very pricey.

There are many different kinds of counselors and therapists who focus and/or proscribe different solutions and/or medication. Not every practicing medical firm are the same in the sense of solutions. So you should think about your options and your kind of solutions you want to get out of it.

I also agree with talking with your wife about this. It's ok to not know why you're depressed, this is you reaching out for solutions and answers.

ceres

cookiekrush wrote: »

A counselor and therapist are two different things, as one just speaks to you and discussion solutions, while the other can proscribe medication. So you should think about your options in that as well.

This is not even a little bit true. The difference between a counselor and a therapist is often found in the degree they have, and many many many therapists CANNOT prescribe medication, just like these days many many many of the mental health professionals that can prescribe medication do not do therapy. Sometimes you'll luck out and find someone who does both, but it's not the norm these days.

Xaquin

I just did a google search for therapists in my area and looked at some reviews.

Good luck to you sir!

cookiekrush

ceres wrote: »

cookiekrush wrote: »

A counselor and therapist are two different things, as one just speaks to you and discussion solutions, while the other can proscribe medication. So you should think about your options in that as well.

This is not even a little bit true. The difference between a counselor and a therapist is often found in the degree they have, and many many many therapists CANNOT prescribe medication, just like these days many many many of the mental health professionals that can prescribe medication do not do therapy. Sometimes you'll luck out and find someone who does both, but it's not the norm these days.

Sorry I didn't make that part clear. I just wanted to point out that counselors and therapists are not a unified term, as I know many people use the terms incorrectly. There are so many different kinds of counselors and therapists that it gets very confusing to people who haven't done the research. Such as having M.D. or D.O. within the name or practice can say their medical background and what they can and cannot do.

I'll edit the post to verify my point.

UncleChet

When my head was near exploding I did what was mentioned for US living mental health seekers. I got a list of all doctors that were in my network. Then I started calling them one by one, explaining what was going on (i got more manic as the list got more and more towards the end). I Finally got one that would have an opening and it was within 7 days. That doctor turned out to be my best resource for my own well being for about 2 years. Then I got laid off, went into the VA Medical system. That sucked hard at first, but is Fantastic now.

Invisible

My psychiatrist gave me a referral. My job also provides an anonymous line that helps connect employees with medical providers. So maybe you have something like that?

My insurance website also lets me login and search for different providers in my area that accept my plan.

Beyond that, google.

Officer 1BDI

I want to throw out that if you're not satisfied with the first therapist you have a session with then please don't be afraid to find a new person. I wasted a year in therapy with virtually no progress because the person I was seeing was generally unhelpful, but I was afraid that switching would make me a "bad patient" because she was the expert and who was I to question her?

Shortly after I found a new therapist (though internet reviews) I learned that I'd been misdiagnosed, but that's a whole other can of worms.

My point is, if you feel like you're not getting the help you need, don't hesitate to discuss this with the person you're seeing and/or find another person to talk to.

Good luck!

wilting

Do the same thing you would do with any other symptoms. Talk to your GP and s/he will put in touch with a relevant specialist.

th3thirdman

If money is an issue then you can talk to your local college. some have Community Counseling Services. that are much more affordable.

SkyGheNe

This is a pretty good resource: http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/prof_search.php

It gives you the therapist, whether they have sliding scales (relative to your salary/wages), what insurance providers they accept, and also their background and specialty.

For instance, I would not have someone who is wrestling with gender identity go to someone who doesn't have some sort of background or specialty in that. Same goes for any subject, such as depression, marital counseling, borderline personality, bipolar disorder, etc.

I would recommend asking the therapist that you're interested in for a 30 minute interview to see if the two of you would fit. This should be for free, over the phone or in-person, and will allow you to assess how comfortable they are with working with you, and you with them.